Which DNS record type maps a domain name to an IPv4 address?

Which DNS record type maps a domain name to an IPv4 address? An A record maps a domain name to an IPv4 address.

The “A” stands for address. In DNS, an A record returns a 32-bit IPv4 address, such as 192.0.2.1, allowing a hostname to resolve to a server or other network endpoint. A domain can have several A records, which can support redundancy or distribute traffic.

The closely related AAAA record performs the equivalent job for IPv6, returning a 128-bit address. CNAME records do not contain an IP address; they point one hostname to another canonical hostname, which is then resolved separately. MX records instead identify mail-exchange hosts.

DNS is a distributed naming system rather than a single central directory. Resolvers cache answers according to their time to live, so changes to an A record may not appear everywhere immediately. An A record can also coexist with MX, TXT, NS, and other records at the same domain name.